What is Triathlon?

Triathlon…What is it? Well for starters…its not just a sport. For many Triathletes, its a Lifestyle.

Triathlon is 3 sports all rolled into one. There are many different styles and race distances but essentially if the event includes these 3 sports, Swimming, Biking and Running….then its a Triathlon.

Swim:

The Swim leg in a Triathlon is anywhere between 400mt (approx Super Sprint distance) up to 3.8K (Ironman distance). The swim is usually organised into Age Group waves if your racing an event governed by ITU rules. If its an Ironman governed race you may find the swim start to be a Mass Start.

Bike:

The bike leg in a triathlon measures out anywhere between 10k (approx Super Sprint distance) up to 180k (Ironman distance). It is important to understand that most triathlon bike legs are an individual Time Trial. This means its a NON Drafting discipline. Exceptions to this rule are highlighted in the chart below but if you are an Age Group athlete then you are most likely racing in a Non-Drafting race. You may use any road legal bicycle in the race.

Run:

Well most triathletes say it is in the Run discipline where the race is won or lost. Well technically speaking this is true as the finish line is at the end of the run…

Transition:

Nutrition/Diet:

Recovery:

Like all sports, Triathlon have a large rule book. It is the responsibility of all athletes to know the rules before taking part. Full ITU rules can be found here. Full Ironman rules can be found here.